Adjustable pad painter

ABSTRACT

The paint applying pad of a pad painter is slideably coupled to a handle member by lateral flanges. Fixed spaced guides extend outwardly of the handle parallel to the pad. The pad may be longitudinally displaced with respect to the ends of the guides by means of a worm rotatably carried within the handle member and a series of spaced slots in the top of the pad with which the worm is in mesh.

United States Patent 91 Seip 1 June 5, 1973 I541 ADJUSTABLE PAD PAINTER [75] Inventor: Donald P. Seip, Union, NJ.

[ 73] Assignee: Red Devil Incorporated, Union, NJ.

[22] Filed: Feb. 8, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 206,781

152] [1.5. CI. ..l5/2l0 R, 15/144 B, 15/176,

15/244 A [5|] Int. Cl. ..A46b 15/00, 825g H04 [58] Field of Search ..l5/144 R, 144 B,

15/145,l46,l72, 176, 210 R, 244 A, 429, 430,433;401/l16 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,810,148 10/1957 Wood ..15/210R 2,016,715 10/1935 Harris ..l5/429 2,532,037 11/1950 Robbins.

3,289,236 12/1966 Salka ..l5/210 R 3,629,894 12/1971 Stefany ..15/176 X Primary ExaminerDaniel Blum Att0rneyAlbert F. Kronman [57] ABSTRACT The paint applying pad of a pad painter is slidcably coupled to a handle member by lateral flanges. Fixed spaced guides extend outwardly of the handle parallel to the pad. The pad may be longitudinally displaced with respect to the ends of the guides by means of a worm rotatably carried within the handle member and a series of spaced slots in the top of the pad with which the worm is in mesh.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Pad painters consisting of a flat paint receiving member having a plurality of short bristles secured thereto and a handle are well-known. In using such devices to paint corners or window sash, difficulty is experienced in keeping paint carried by the edge of the pad from getting on the adjacent surfaces such as ceilings of different color or window panes. On the other hand, it is essential that the pad painter be able to reach into a corner where necessary. Prior art attempts comprise complicated structures which are subject to failure by reason of exposure to paint.

In the present device, the pad painter is adjustable for use under a wide variety of conditions. The adjusting mechanism is carried within the handle where it is protected from paint and the paint applying pad is easily removed from the handle for cleaning or replacement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the preferred form of the present invention the paint applying pad is secured to a rectangular rigid flat plate.

The plate has lateral flanges which freely engage the somewhat rectangular portion of a handle member. A plurality of spaced slots cut in the plate serve to receive the threads of a worm carried within an upstanding hollow portion of the handle member. The pad may be shifted with respect to the handle member by operation of the worm to meet a wide variety of painting conditions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings forming part hereof indentical parts have been given the same reference numerals, in which drawings;

FIG. 1 is a somewhat exploded isometric view of a complete embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 in FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the adjustable pad painter shown in FIG. 1, partly broken away and on an enlarged scale.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawing, and particularly to FIG. 1, indicates an adjustable pad painter comprising a paint applying pad 11 and a handle member 12. The paint applying pad 11, as best shown in FIG. 2, consists of a thin sheet of spongy material 13, such as a foamed polyester, or other synthetic sponge material, having a layer of nylon filaments flocked thereon. Other natural or synthetic bristles may be substituted for the nylon filaments 14. The nylon filaments 14 are adapted to receive paint thereon for application to a surface. A layer of some suitable pressure sensitive adhesive 15 is applied to the sheet of spongy material 13 on the surface opposite the nylon filaments. In this manner, the sheet of spongy material 13 can be secured to a rigid plate, preferably made of metal. The pressure sensitive adhesive 15 makes it possible to remove the paint receiving member for replacement purposes.

The plate 16 is substantially rectangular in shape and provided with flanges 17 on each lateial edge thereof.

The flanges 17 are inwardly bent as indicated at 18 in FIG. 2 for a hereinafter more fully described purpose.

A series of spaced slots 19 disposed mid way between the flanges l7 and parallel thereto are provided in the plate 16 and complete the structure of the paint applying pad member.

The handle member 12 as best shown in FIG. 1, consists of a substantially rectangular horizontal support portion 20 and a hollow upstanding handle part 21. The support portion 20 is provided with lateral bevels 22 along each side thereof. The bevels 22 are adapted to receive the flanges 17 of the plate 16 thereon in a freely sliding relationship. The front of the horizontal support member 20 is formed with two outwardly extending spaced guides 23, which are adapted to bear against any surface not disposed in the plane of the surface being painted. The guides 23 also establish a spaced relationship between the surface not being painted and the leading edge of the nylon filaments 14.

It will be apparent that it is highly desirable, from time to time, to change the spaced relationship between the edge of the guides 23 and the paint applying pad 11 depending upon the painting requirements. In the present invention this change is made possible by means of a worm 24 freely journaled within the upstanding handle part 21. The worm 24, best shown'in FIGS. 3 and 4, consists of a cylindrical body 25, threads 26, and an adjusting nob 27, all integrally formed. The body of the worm 24 is provided with an annular groove 28, which is journale d within a wall 29 within the hollow handle part 21. The opposite end of the worm body 25, which is formed into the adjusting nob 27 is journaled within an opening 30 in the rear wall 31 of the handle part 21. The worm 24 is so disposed within the handle part 21 that its threads 26 enter the spaced slots 19 in the plate 16. It will be observed that the slots 19 are offset to conform to the threads26.

The handle member 12, and the worm 24 are both preferably made of some suitable plastic material, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon or the like. A suitable amount of frictional contact is thus provided between the handle member 12 and the worm 24 carried therein. This frictional contact prevents accidental movement of the worm 24 during painting. In addition, the large number of threads 26 within the slots 19 contributes to prevent the accidental movement of the paint applying pad 11. I

The operation of the adjustable pad painter wil be apparent'from the foregoing. Withthe pad painter assembled as shown in FIG. 3, the nylon filaments 14 are dipped into the paint, care being taken not to get excessive paint on the said filaments. The handle part 21 is grasped and the paint transferredto the surface to be painted by drawing the nylon filaments over said surface. This operation is repeated until the entire surface to be painted is covered. When a corner is to be painted, the guides 23 are disposed against the surface being painted up to and the pad painter is slid along said surface upon the guides 23. If the paint applying pad 11 is not at a suitable distance from the surface which is not desired to be painted, said distance can be adjusted by rotating the nob 27 thereby changing the relative spacing between the guides 23 and the leading edge of the nylon filaments 14.

When it is desired to clean the paint applying pad, the nob 27 is rotated until the threads 26 drive the entire paint applying pad 11 out of engagement with the horizontal support 20 of the handle member 12. Thereupon, the entire paint applying pad can be dipped in solvent, water, or any other cleaning material, Alternately, the sheet of spongy material 13 can be peeled away from the plate 16, as shown in FIG. 2, for cleaning purposes.

It will be seen that the paint applying pad adjusting mechanism in the present invention is disposed within the hollow handle part 21 and protected from any paint which may be splattered upon the pad painter. In this manner, the adjusting mechanism will continue to function for a substantial period of time without cleaning. In the event that cleaning is necessary, removal of the plate 16 as hereinabove described will expose the worm 24 and also permit the plate 16 to be soaked in some suitable solvent for complete paint removal.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided an adjustable pad painter of highly simplified construction, which will not be rendered inoperative by paint adhering to the working parts thereof and which may be cleaned and adjusted with a minimum of effort.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patents of the United States, is:

- 1. An adjustable pad painter comprising a paint applyi'ngpad member, a rigid plate having spaced parallel margins thereon mounting the pad member, an elongated inwardly disposed flange on each of the spaced parallel margins, a series of spaced slots in the rigid plate between the parallel margins, a handle member for the pad member comprising a substantially rectangular support freely and slideably received within the spaced flanges, an upstanding, hollow handle part on the handle member and a worm rotatably carried within the handle part in driving engagement with the slots in the rigid plate whereby the paint applying pad member may be adjustably shifted with respect to the handle member upon rotation of said worm.

2. An adjustable pad painter according to claim 1 in which the leading edge of the handle member rectangular support is formed with spaced outstanding guides.

3. An adjustable pad painter according to claim 2 in which the handle part is provided with a transverse wall to receive one end of the worm and a rear wall having an opening therein to journal the opposite end of the worm.

4. An adjustable pad painter according to claim 1 in which the handle member and the worm are formed of a plastic material whereby adequate frictional contact is obtained therebetween. 

1. An adjustable pad painter comprising a paint applying pad member, a rigid plate having spaced parallel margins thereon mounting the pad member, an elongated inwardly disposed flange on each of the spaced parallel margins, a series of spaced slots in the rigid plate between the parallel margins, a handle member for the pad member comprising a substantially rectangular support freely and slideably received within the spaced flanges, an upstanding, hollow handle part on the handle member and a worm rotatably carried within the handle part in driving engagement with the slots in the rigid plate whereby the paint applying pad member may be adjustably shifted with respect to the handle member upon rotation of said worm.
 2. An adjustable pad painter according to claim 1 in which the leading edge of the handle member rectangular support is formed with spaced outstanding guides.
 3. An adjustable pad painter according to claim 2 in which the handle part is provided with a transverse wall to receive one end of the worm and a rear wall having an opening therein to journal the opposite end of the worm.
 4. An adjustable pad painter according to claim 1 in which the handle member and the worm are formed of a plastic material whereby adequate frictional contact is obtained therebetween. 